Bulletproof Listing Presentation

How to Build & Present Your

TPI 1011

Bulletproof

Listing

Your Personal Listing Presentation

The most important tool in your Real Estate career answers the most valuable question in our

business: Why should I list my house with you?

Why should I list my house with you and not with my best friend at ___________? Why should I list with you and not sell by owner?

Why not list with top producer over at ___________?

Why not list with discount broker? Less Commission? Billboard ads? Cable TV? Popular well known Realtor in town?

The answer is not in one line! The answer is not some snappy objection technique that can be memorized like a parrot. Parrots do not earn $20,000 per month.

The answer lies in a full professional presentation of Features, Advantages and Benefits offered by your company to service and market their valuable listing inventory.

The answer lies in the comprehensive professional delivery of compelling arguments brought to the consumer’s attention in a diplomatic, courteous, and assertive, confident manner.

The entire process from the point of first contact to climactic signing of a listing agreement is an exercise in elevating your credibility.

The momentum of your predetermined agenda is the art of persuasion.

Prospecting, Unique Selling Propositions, Doorhangers, Direct Mail, Telemarketing, Networking, Advertising are all tools to generate the only real goal of every Real Estate Professional in the Market… The Listing Presentation.

1. Preparation

a. CMA for subject property

All of the Active Pending and Closed Sales in the subject subdivision complete with analysis of the most similar properties affecting the market conditions. Appraisal courses and CMA courses are offered at the board of Realtors and some brokerages.

b. Prelisting package

The Prospecting Institute offers agents multimedia prelisting presentations. Agents and brokers may produce a CD and drop it by before the appointment, or package collateral printed materials and testimonials that enhance their credibility. Then drop the printed package by the seller’s house before the appointment

c. listing book

We recommend a leather-bound 3-ring binder filled with visual aides for your mar- keting presentation. All of these compelling arguments organized together and presented are the specific reasons why the seller should choose you.

d. listing pack

1. Personalized Promotional Materials 2. Listing Contracts

3. Seller’s Estimated Net Proceeds 4. Any applicable addendums

e. Potential properties for seller’s destination (where are they moving to?) f. Good faith estimates/finance options for seller’s destination property g. Area information for destination properties

2. Introduction

3. Direct the presentation to the Kitchen or Dining Room Table

Would you mind if I put my things down here at the kitchen or dining room table?

4. Nickel Tour

a. Ask questions. Questions are the most valuable tool in your presentation, learn how to serve the client by learning what they want and need.

When are you hoping to make your move? Where are you moving to?

Did you complete these upgrades (be specific) or were they here when you moved in? What attracted you most to this home?

b. Take notes:

Notice upgrades and salability enhancers Notice improvements

Be polite and complimentary c. Build rapport

Be nice to the kids and the dog Compliment décor

Match and mirror seller’s behavior in: voice

speed inflection tone mannerism

d. Elicit information about seller’s motivation e. Assess condition

f. Find and point out selling features

g. Elevate credibility with market knowledge

We just sold

We are working with a family… I just had that situation

My in-house lender will handle that

My concierge services host can help with that I have an in-house attorney for that

Now go back to the kitchen or dining room table

5. Safe Island

Anything that you could say that lets the seller know what they can expect from you tonight without making them feel like you are about to sell them anything!

a. Lower Seller’s defenses

Well, I have done a lot of research on your house and your neighborhood, and my goal is that before I leave, you’ll know everything you need to know about pricing your home, presenting your home for sale, and financing the upcoming move. Before we talk about your house, I just want to take a minute to tell you a little bit about how I work.

b. Elevate your credibility and professionalism

First, I want to let you know that we have been selling homes in your neighborhood since (year built) and I personally will be selling (subdivision name) homes until 2028 so I don’t have a preference onwhen you move. I really just want to take this opportunity to give you all of the information that is important about your upcoming move.

c. Remove seller’s fears

I would like to accomplish three things tonight. First I want to tell you a little bit about myself and my company and why we have been so successful here in (city name). Second, I will go over all of the information that affects the value of your home so that you can make an informed pricing decision. And finally, we will go over all of the financing and expenses on the one you are selling and the one you are buying. Is that OK?

d. Get Permission

You are the boss! Tonight you will let me know if and how I can help you. You will set the price, you will let me know what level of accessibility you will grant myself and my company to show your home, and you will let me know when or if you want to begin the process. I need to take a minute and go over how I work and some information about how we would be marketing your home. Is that OK?

6. Marketing Presentation

a. Your resume, personal philosophy, background b. National franchise history

Create a brief resume on your national franchise.

The following is a sample resume:

Exit Realty is a national franchise real estate organization based in Toronto, Canada. Exit’s Slogan is “Real Estate reinvented” and I think by the end of this evening you will know why. Exit was created by a gentlemen named Steve Morris who helped build RE/Max to what it is today. In 1996, Mr. Morris left Re/Max to build a franchise around full-time career-oriented professionals that have a vested interest in the organization through profit sharing. His theory was that if you get the best agents in the area to join Exit based on long-term profit sharing and retirement residuals, you will dominate the market. Exit opened more offices and recruited more associates in North America than any other franchise in the history of the industry.

c. Local Brokerage history

The following is a sample:

ABC Realty opened December of 2000! The #1 Re/Max agent in Coral Springs and Parkland decided to follow Mr. Morris from Re/Max to ABC. ABC opened with 4 agents averaging about 10 million in sales annually. By December of 2004, we had 260 agents and we were producing 30 times that. During 2005, we will sell more than 1800 homes – approximately $400M in Real Estate. That is 4000% growth over a 4 year period.

Today we have an in-house mortgage lender, in-house attorney, in-house title insurance com- pany, and concierge services host. In just 4 short years we have gone from “who’s ABC?” to one of the most recognizable market brands in the area.

When we opened, ABC was the first _____ office in the area. Today there are 9 ______ offices in Broward and 90 in Florida.

d. Local Marketing

One of the largest contributing factors in the growth of our organization is the commitment to local advertising of properties for sale. Specific lead generation advertisement dollars are typically reserved for the associate to handle. In other words, at other big firms in the area, you will often see specific agents advertising to make the phone ring, but the brokerage will reserve its resources for institutional type advertising. We built a marketing system around lead gener-ation first and our institutional presence has grown because of that.

1. Sun Sentinel

Most agents will sway a consumer away from the Sun Sentinel Classifieds, primarily because it is the most expensive medium in our market. Individual associates can not afford to fund $50-100 per week on advertising one property. In addition, one property advertised by itself will only generate a couple of inquiries. 30-35 properties, however, will generate hundreds of calls per week and consistently proves to be the most effective advertising medium in our local market. We average $_____ per month in Sun Sentinel Classifieds lead generation advertising. The synergy of all of the ads together makes the system work. No one agent can afford to do that, and no other brokerage in Broward is willling to invest that heavily for their agents.

I may take a call on a $299,000 in Shadow Wood and I have an opportunity to tell them about your $309,000 home here in Wyndham Lakes. The $329,000 call in Hidden Hammocks often creates a lead on my Shadow Wood property. It really is the bump to process that adds value to the seller and for the buyer.

2. Harmon Homes Magazine

In exactly the same way we made a decision to dominate the Sun Sentinel classifieds, we committed as a brokerage to expose your property in every industry-specific publication in the local marketplace. Your property and dozens of properties in the same price range will run every day in several publications simultaneously.

3. Digest Of Homes

You can find this publication everywhere in Broward and your home will be featured here.

4. Real Estate Showcase

5. Real Estate Resource Magazine 6. The Real Estate Book

e. Web Based Marketing

The internet has changed the way that I do my job in so many ways. It has changed the lead generation process for the Realtor professional and has broadened the impact that I can have on the national and international relocation consumer. Our brokerage was built in the middle of the internet revolution and made a couple of really smart decisions about how we would take advantage of the opportunities on the web. First we needed to be positioned on all of the high- est traveled web sites in the real estate industry. So your home will be featured on...

1. Realtor.com

No other vehicle can achieve what Realtor.com has achieved for exposing your property to potential buyers. I track the hits (I-lead generation) and I can tell you that an average

property in my inventory receives more than 20 hits per day because of Realtor.com. Some properties take 60, 70, 80 hits every day. That is impossible to achieve without the

internet. Multiply the hits of one property by 100, 200, 300 properties. Add virtual tours

and local area information, and it is no question why the internet has transformed my ability to attract consumers to your home.

2. Homespot. Com

3. Your national franchise’s site 4. Your franchise’s regional site 5. Florida Living Network.com 6. Your company’s site

7. I.D.X. exchange relationship

The next thing that we did is amazing.We entered into an agreement called Internet Data Exchange. This agreement states that every listing taken by any ABC agent will be immediately uploaded to every website in the agreement. That is over 70,000 web sites in Florida alone. The minute you give me the go ahead, I will hit a button on my computer that will load your property, photos, description, even a virtual tour onto 70,000 websites that are being promoted by other Realtors all over Florida.

8. I-lead generator

f. Local marketing to prospective purchasers 1. Direct mail

We send 20,000 pieces of mail every month to local renters and homeowners soliciting our Rent vs. Own program, Upgrade Program, Empty Nester, Law Enforcement

Apprec-iation Program, Teacher ApprecApprec-iation Program and the Firefighter ApprecApprec-iation Proram. The responses from 1/4 million direct mail solicitations annually build our clientele, which in turn brings qualified buyers through your door.

2. Neighborhood Canvassing

177 active, licensed, career-oriented professionals working together add value to sellers.

Subdivisions are frequently canvassed to bring out would-be movers upgrading or

downsizing into your property. Think about how you found this seller! Show him an example of how sellers of larger or smaller homes can become buyers for his home. 3. Telemarketing

Our agents and assistants are trained to work within the new “Do Not Call” laws and prospect for renters and prospective sellers in the area that often convert to buyers for your property.

4. Apartment Dwellers

Our Rent vs Own programs, in cooperation with Homebanc mortgage, bring hundreds of renters every year out of apartments, condos, and single family homes they are cur- rently renting. These renters are often qualified to purchase a home like yours but aren’t aware of the options available to them.

5. Marketing Alliance with Mortgage Company

If you have an in-house mortgage company, promote it. As our in-house full-service mortgage division, Homebanc and ABC share the synergy of two marketing campaigns generating inquiries from buyers on your property.

6. “753 open houses in 2004”

Customize your presentation to fit your brokerage: (sample only)

As it is, in classified advertising or internet presence, no single event, no single ad brings the buyers for your home. It is the systematic attack on the marketplace from multiple angles that capture the prospective buyers. The compelling argument is that 260 agents working together in 2005 host five 3-hour open house events. That is 1250 open houses producing an average of five buyer prospects each, or 6250 new buyer prospects in ‘05!

The fact is that an open house probably won’t sell your home. Agents are inclined to steer sellers away from open houses because they are costly and labor-intensive. How-ever, when buyers from one open house can be captured, cultivated and qualified to produce an offer and eventual closing on another listing in the marketplace, the open house system becomes invaluable. The advantage to you is that I may be sitting an open house in (similar subdivision listing) and that buyer ends up buying your property here in (subject subdivision).

g. Unique Selling Propositions

All of these programs are lead generators for your seller’s property to be sold faster and for more money because we bring the buyer, and we increase demand. The benefits from these programs should be learned and part of your presentation.

1. Upgrade Program 2. Empty Nester

3. Firefighter Appreciation Program 4. Law Enforcement Appreciation 5. Teacher Appreciation Program h. World Class Service

1. Concierge Services Host 2. In-House Attorney

3. In-House Mortgage Lender 4. Full service staff

5. Contract to closing file processing

A full time transaction coordinator is on staff at the office to free our Realtors to do what they do best – match buyers and sellers for successful closings.

7. Pricing Consultation

a. Review Comparable Active, Pending and Closed 1. Subject subdivision

2. Subject model type (apples to apples) 3. Comparable subdivisions nearby

4. Focus on closed sales not active or pending

8. Seller’s pricing decision

9. Seller’s Estimated Net Proceeds